Elkmont athlete battles back from bout with cancer

Monday

Oct 8, 2012 at 9:41 PMOct 9, 2012 at 9:19 AM

ELKMONT — Slightly trembling, Rhett Bailey glanced around as he soaked in the setting.

By JUSTIN GRAVESDecatur Daily

ELKMONT — Slightly trembling, Rhett Bailey glanced around as he soaked in the setting.Anxiety. Thrill. Gratification. Fear.For the Elkmont High wide receiver, the emotions overwhelmed him. Understandable, because Bailey never expected to be in this position.Almost two years had passed since the last time Bailey stepped inside the lines at Boss Hill Stadium on the Elkmont campus. That span was full of life-changing events, and whether the Elkmont High junior ever would play another down of football was considered a longshot.Until now.Bailey beat the odds. He won a bout with cancer. He overcame lingering health issues.And now he was on the field, lined up at his wide receiver position, for the first time since 2010.A tale of an underdog’s triumph, indeed.It got even better from there.On Bailey’s first play, in the second quarter Friday night against rival West Limestone, the junior beat a defender on a post route, caught an on-target pass from quarterback Bryant Wales and sprinted 60 yards to the end zone, where he celebrated a touchdown in front of family and friends who were in the nearby stands.“At that moment, I think I was happier than I’ve ever been,” Bailey said. “The first thing I did was look at my family. They were all cheering, and my mom was crying. That made me tear up, because for the first time in a while, I felt like everything I’ve gone through was behind me.”When Bailey reached the end zone, he received a standing ovation from both the Elkmont and West Limestone fans. Most of the people at Boss Hill Stadium knew his story.“It really was amazing to watch,” West Limestone coach David Arnsbarger said. “Just knowing what that kid has gone through to get back to where he is now, there are life lessons all of us can use. It was one of those situations where you couldn’t help but feel good about what happened.” Bailey, 16, has become an inspirational figure in the community.As a freshman in 2010, Bailey was living a teenage dream. He started at wide receiver and defensive back for Elkmont’s football team, and was the starting shortstop on the baseball team.Life was good. Bailey wanted to be a sports star at Elkmont, and those dreams were coming true.But still, something wasn’t right. Bailey had been sick for most of the school year. At times, he had trouble keeping food down. Bailey described it as “a stomach virus that never went away.”Bailey’s family and coaches initially thought the problem could be nerves. Playing varsity sports comes with pressure, and a 15-year-old freshman can struggle to handle that.Then, in April 2011, the issue escalated. Bailey became so sick his mother, Missy, took him to the emergency room at Athens-Limestone Hospital. Bailey was eventually transferred to Huntsville Hospital. On Easter Sunday, doctors told him there might be tumors in his stomach.“My initial response was shock,” Bailey said. “I didn’t understand how I could go from being able to run around and play sports — being perfectly healthy — to being told that I have cancer. I didn’t know where I was going to be or what was going to happen. I was confused. It was a terrible feeling.”Elkmont football coach Sean Holt, who is Rhett’s uncle, remembers getting the phone call from Missy with the bad news.“My stomach dropped,” Holt said. “We never expected that. I don’t think anyone ever does. I mean, Rhett looked perfectly healthy. He was in great shape, so when I got that phone call, I was floored. It was a terrifying moment.”Bailey wasn’t diagnosed with cancer while at Huntsville Hospital. Because of the tornado outbreak April 27, 2011, and the chaos that ensued, doctors were not able to complete tests. Bailey was transferred to St. Jude Children’s Hospital in Memphis.A few days after arriving at St. Jude, the prognosis was grim. Yes, Bailey had cancer. He was diagnosed with Diffused Large B-Cell Lymphoma.But treating the aggressive cancer in Bailey’s stomach wasn’t the top priority. Doctors at St. Jude discovered another large lymph node was blocking blood flow to Bailey’s intestines, and the situation was life threatening.“How did I feel? Disbelief,” Missy said, trying to hold back tears. “To be quite honest, I tried not to ask why, but asked God for the strength to deal with this. As a mother, it was terrifying because there was nothing I could do to stop what was happening.”More than a year later, Rhett smiled as he discussed the long journey.An optimist by the definition of the word, Rhett sincerely believes in prayer. Those beliefs never wavered during his bout with cancer.“I told myself that whatever happened was God’s will,” Rhett said. “I never felt sorry for myself or asked, ‘Why me?’ Yeah, there were times when I was depressed, but I just continued to pray and kept telling myself that everything would be fine.”The community realizes and appreciates the strength Rhett showed during the past two years. He has served as an inspirational figure in Elkmont and surrounding Limestone County communities.Rhett frequently speaks at churches that once had his name on their prayer lists.His biggest speaking point: the power of prayer and how people can continue to live full lives, even when situations appear difficult at best.“That’s something I learned when I was at St. Jude,” Rhett said. “Just seeing what others were going through, how kids younger than me, who much more sick than I was, how they were always happy and smiling, even though the circumstances weren’t good. I learned a lot of valuable lessons while I was there.”Playing sports may be Rhett’s dream, but he has found his niche in public speaking.He is getting plenty of practice at it, too — even on stages much larger than Limestone County church pulpits.In January, Rhett received a surprise phone call. At the other end was NFL Hall of Fame quarterback Warren Moon, who wanted to fly Rhett to Hawaii to speak at his St. Jude charity event, which was held in conjunction with the NFL Pro Bowl.“The funny thing is I’m not even sure if Rhett knew who Warren Moon was,” Holt said. “We knew he was going to get that call, so his granddad was kind of getting him ready, talking about Warren Moon without telling Rhett what was going to happen. When he got that call, and the guy said ‘This is Warren Moon,’ Rhett was in shock.”Rhett’s message has been received well locally. That quickly became apparent Sept. 24, when doctors cleared him to play football.When Rhett got the news, the first person he told was his younger brother, Jared.“I couldn’t believe it,” Jared said. “I really couldn’t. All of our prayers had been answered, and I couldn’t wait to get back out on the field with my brother.”Moments after telling his brother, Rhett posted the news on Facebook. Friends and football players from all across Limestone County responded to the post, and the outpouring of support has yet to stop.The first few weeks at St. Jude were difficult.A large piece of Rhett’s large intestine was removed — the first of three surgeries in which cancerous tumors were taken from his abdominal area.And that was only the beginning. Four months of chemotherapy followed, quickly taking a toll on Rhett’s body.Missy said Rhett lost more than 35 pounds during his stay at St. Jude, dropping to 118. The combination of chemotherapy and numerous surgeries physically weakened Rhett to a point at which he could hardly walk.But mentally? Rhett proved to be a spirited fighter.“I can only remember one week where Rhett would let us push him in a wheelchair,” Missy said. “He was determined to do things himself, always trying to walk on his own and show us that he was getting better.”Rhett said it was important to keep spirits high. “I wanted to do whatever I could to keep my family from worrying,” he said. “Most of the time I tried to keep a positive attitude. My body wore down pretty bad through the treatments. It was difficult at times, but I’ve always tried to keep a positive outlook.”Rhett said he didn’t have to look far for inspiration. The rooms at St. Jude were full of other children dealing with the same issues as Rhett — and in many cases, the prognosis was worse.Rhett said the time he spent in Memphis will have a lasting effect on his life. When describing his experience at the hospital, he quickly moved away from personal dialogue, touching on the never ceasing need to raise money for St. Jude, citing exact figures on the expense of treating cancer.“All of us who were in the hospital, we all share a bond,” Rhett said. “We were all battling the same thing. We were all battling cancer.”Bailey talks about his experience with ease.Cancer is a significant part of his life. Two years of his teenage life were unexpectedly changed. He accepts that, and instead of sulking, he tries to use his experiences to help others.But even though Bailey made the most of a tough situation, empty voids in his teenage lifestyle remained.Bailey was classified as in remission in August 2011 and was deemed cancer free one year later, meaning there is less than a 10 percent chance the cancer will return.He never gave up hope about playing sports again. Persistence and perseverance are strong characteristics in his personality. So is loyalty.Even though Bailey wasn’t able to play football in 2011, he was on the sideline for most of the games and attended almost every practice. He continued that during the offseason, attending workouts to support his teammates.Because of the extensive scars on his abdomen from the three surgeries, and a blood clot on an artery near his heart, doctors told Rhett and his family it was unlikely he would play contact sports again.But Rhett never lost hope, and this past spring, he was cleared to play baseball, although doctors required that he wear a protective Kevlar vest to cover his abdominal area.The next milestone came during the summer, when he was cleared to play basketball.But football? Rhett was told continuously that was a longshot because of the blood clot, and the danger a hard blow to the chest could cause.“We really didn’t expect him to play again,” Missy said. “That’s something we were starting to accept.”But that worked out, too. He was told Sept. 24 the blood clot was gone, clearing him to play football.“We’ve learned so many life lessons from Rhett,” Wales said. “The biggest one is to never give up, no matter the circumstances. What Rhett has gone through to get here now, it’s amazing.”Rhett is the first to admit he isn’t in the physical shape he once was.These days, he gets winded a little faster, and he is a little lighter with less muscle mass.That’s fine. From Rhett’s perspective, he already has traveled the hard road.Life has come full circle. “For the first time in two years, I feel like my life is finally back to normal,” he said. “Even though I was better, and I know that I was fortunate to overcome everything that happened, but not being able to play football was tough. I wanted to be out there so bad. “I can’t explain how grateful I am. I really do feel like prayers were answered.”

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